Matt Cowley: Racing driver on his history of cars - from a Ford Capri to an old Porsche 911

He spotted a 1976 Capri 1.3 in white with a black vinyl roof. He nagged his father, Ian to go and look at it.

Unbeknown to Matt, now 27, his father, who worked for many years in Leeds, did go and look with a mechanic friend, and bought it.

It turned out to be a 17th birthday present and a few lessons later he was driving legally on the road. He has many memories of the car, but especially liked it because it wasn’t too reliable, and tended to break down on college days when he didn’t particularly like some of the lessons.

A call into the office, tell them it had broken down, and he couldn’t make it that day. Matt did have some mechanical know-how, and could fix some minor problems. He recalls going to Alton Towers in the Capri with his friends, and had the best day out ever. The Capri has a huge bonnet, and with the small 1300cc engine, you could almost get in, and walk round the engine, there was so much room. Matt went on to GT4 Championship and drove, and did well in an Aston Martin, also driving, and winning in a Mercedes-AMG GT4.

His ambition for the future is to compete Globally in Endurance Racing which last anything between 12 - 24 hours. His current everyday car is his father’s “hand-me-down” 20-year-old Porsche 911.

He uses it regularly to travel between home in Stalybridge to Silverstone where he works at the iZone Driver Performance Centre.

When asked what his dream car is he replied without any hesitation - an original 1968 Ford Mustang Bullitt, as seen in the film Bullitt and driven by Steve McQueen, an iconic movie car.